It's the Drummer's Fault

We’ve all agreed to blame any faults in our show on Inattentive Drummer, who was on duty yesterday.  It’s such a handy excuse – the next time I overcook the chicken, I’m definitely going to blame it on the drummer.

For some reason, I always thought matinee audiences were filled with grumpy old crones, but either I’ve become a grumpy old crone myself, or I was wrong, because we got the most laughs yet out of yesterday’s audience.  Fiona and Clara sat dead center in the front row, so I had a few chances to connect – twirling my twirly ribbon at her (actually, not-so-twirly yesterday – more like clumpy and twisty), and I even squeezed in a Teletubbies shout-out during a moment when the “General” took a little long on his entrance.  I shouted, “Too noisy!  Too noisy!” (And if you also recognize that from the Teletubbies, I share your pain.  The Teletubbies are the Antichrist).  And yes, it did actually make sense in the context of the play, since at that moment I am fussing over a loud siren.

Is it just me, or am I so much less funny after doing this show seven days in a row?  Don’t answer that.

After the show, Clara ran into my arms and I gave her a huge hug.  She looked at me funny, like she wasn’t sure I was still me.  “I’ve got big red lips, don’t I?” I asked, and she nodded and grinned.  And then shyly asked if she could meet the rest of the cast.  At that moment, I remembered going to shows when I was four and feeling awed by the glamorous actors in their costumes and makeup, even when the actors were just 8th graders in my sister’s production of “Oklahoma.”  So I held Clara’s hand and introduced her to the lead actors and all the pretty chorus girls, and made sure to tell them that Clara is a dancer herself and will be debuting in the Nutcracker next month.  Like the lovely cast members they are, they all cooed over Clara, whose eyes glowed.

To my dismay, Clara was very disapointed to have missed meeting one particular cast member – the one, the ONLY cast member that, well, she’s not my favorite person in the world.  But later I learned that Clara didn’t want to meet her because of her incredible talent or professionalism, no – she just liked her pink dress.

Well.  That I can understand.

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